John Gormley
Question:70 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number who were parents of Irish citizen children out of those who were deported on 18 November 2003. [28303/03]
Written Answers. - Deportation Orders.
Eamon Ryan
Question:103 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if unaccompanied minors or separated young people have been among those deported from Ireland in 2003; if so, the number; and if there are further plans to deport such separated young people. [28305/03]
John Gormley
Question:109 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of those deported on 18 November 2003 who were children or young dependent adults; and the arrangements which were made to ensure that they would be in the care of their parents or guardians in the country to which they have been deported. [28304/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 70, 103 and 109 together.
A charter flight from Dublin travelled, via Stansted Airport, to Moldova and Romania on 18 November 2003. The flight was arranged to facilitate the removal from Ireland of a group of 25 Moldovan and Romanian nationals. Twenty four of the group, comprising three Moldovans and 21 Romanians, were the subject of deportation orders and one, a Romanian national, was being returned to Romania having been refused leave to land in the State. The group was accompanied by Garda escorts. The aircraft landed in Stansted Airport where the British authorities placed a further four Moldovans and 12 Romanians who were the subject of removal orders in the UK on board. These were also accompanied by escorts provided by the UK authorities. There were no persons on the flight who were the parents of Irish born children.
There were two unaccompanied minors on the flight from Dublin – a girl of ten years of age and her brother of 16 years of age. They were accompanied by an older brother of 18 years of age who is physically handicapped. The whereabouts of the parents of these young persons is unknown but the Garda National Immigration Bureau arranged for them to be met by relatives when the flight landed in Romania. The Romanian social services were also informed in advance of their arrival and of the special requirements of the handicapped young man.
Three persons who fall into the category of unaccompanied minors or separated young people were deported in 2003. Two of these are the persons referred to above while the third person, who was 17 years of age, was deported to Romania in March 2003. Where the deportation of unaccompanied minors is contemplated, each case is given careful consideration on its own merits taking into account,inter alia, the individual circumstances of the person concerned and the circumstances in his or her country of origin at the time of deportation.